This morning, Jio decided to wake up earlier than usual. By the crack of dawn, he was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast—he happened to be quite skilled at cooking. Not long after, the sound of a door opening followed by footsteps caught his attention, making him glance over his shoulder briefly.
"Who's up?" he asked, but kept his focus on cooking.
Sensing he wasn't alone, Jio turned fully—and found Arka already sitting at one of the dining chairs. Jio jumped slightly, then patted his chest.
"You scared the hell out of me," Jio muttered before placing a plate of his cooking in front of Arka.
"Whoa, nice! Just woke up and there's already breakfast. By the way, can I get some milk?" Arka asked.
"I'm a guy, not a girl," Jio deadpanned.
"For real, Ji, your brain needs a good wash," Arka teased.
"Relax, I'm just kidding," Jio laughed awkwardly.
"Whatever you say," Arka replied before biting into the toast in front of him.
Jio turned toward the pantry; luckily, there were coffee powder, milk, and sugar stored there, so he didn't have to walk all the way to the cupboard. Soon, he returned to Arka with a glass of milk in hand.
"Thanks, Ji," Arka said, chewing.
"If it's not sweet enough, just add some sugar—it's in the pantry," Jio replied.
"Man, feels like we're in a café," Arka commented, glancing at the kitchen and pantry, which indeed resembled a coffee shop setup.
Jio didn't respond, choosing instead to keep toasting bread. As he was absorbed in cooking, his eyes accidentally caught the reflection in the glass wall that separated the garden from the dining area. In the glass, he only saw his own reflection cooking. Instinctively, he turned around—only to find the dining table empty, adorned only with a fruit bowl and a vase of flowers in the center.
How was that possible? Arka had been sitting there, eating breakfast, even asking for milk. Jio rubbed his eyes several times, but the scene didn't change—he was alone in the room. He froze, trying to make sense of it, until someone tapped his shoulder.
"What's up? You see a ghost or something?" Hesa asked, smirking at Arka in a teasing manner.
Arka caught the implication and immediately protested.
"Hey, don't look at me like that! Handsome guys like me shouldn't be compared to ghosts." He struck a mock pose, hand under chin.
"I was joking, chill. I'd feel bad for the ghost if it copied your face," Hesa chuckled.
"What's wrong, Jio? You look pale," Joan asked with concern.
"N-no, I'm fine," Jio stammered, unwilling to tell the truth for fear of scaring the others.
"You were up first—why didn't you wake us?" Niki asked.
"I wanted to make breakfast for you guys," Jio replied.
"Aww, so nice. Unlike my rival," Niki said, glancing around but not spotting Setta. "Hey, where's the Fox?"
Yep—Setta's sharp eyes had earned him the nickname "Fox" from his friends.
"He's still in his room, probably had a nightmare," Hesa replied.
"How do you know?" Niki asked.
"I heard some scared muttering from his room last night," Hesa lied casually—truth was, he had heard strange noises but the door had jammed, so he couldn't check.
"You went to check on him?" Satya asked.
"Nah, I passed out before I could," Hesa shrugged.
"His room's right next to mine, and I didn't hear a thing," Niki said.
"That's because you sleep like the dead," Arka teased.
"Watch it," Niki grumbled.
"Alright, let's just eat before the toast gets cold," Joan suggested.
~~~~~
Later that day, the group gathered in the living room to watch a horror movie, wanting to relax a bit before their trip home that night.
"It's over," Arka announced.
"Wanna watch another one?" Niki asked.
"I'm fine either way," Jio replied.
"I'm interested in that game they played," Hesa suddenly said.
"The one where someone's blindfolded and has to catch a friend based on clapping sounds?" Joan asked.
"Yeah," Hesa answered simply.
"Sounds fun. How about we try it?" Niki suggested.
"I'm in," Arka agreed.
Meanwhile, in another part of the villa, Setta had just woken up—it was already 10 a.m. He rubbed his eyes, got up, and went to the bathroom to wash his face.
Wandering the hallway, he wondered aloud, "Where is everyone? Why's it so quiet?"
He stumbled upon a strange room. Curiosity got the better of him, and he stepped inside.
"What is this place?"
The room was empty—except for an old CRT TV in the corner, playing footage of their arrival at the villa.
"Huh? This villa's ancient, how can there be CCTV?" he muttered.
"Should I check it out?"
Footsteps echoed outside. Setta stepped out quickly but saw no one.
"I swear someone was here…"
Then a tap on his shoulder. "Ghost," a voice teased.
He turned to find Satya, and gave him a light punch. "For the last time, my name's Setta, not ghost."
Satya just laughed.
"You guys are awake already?" Setta asked.
"Everyone's in the living room," Satya continued.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
"Hesa said you were having a nightmare—heard you mumbling in fear—so he told us to let you sleep."
"My room's at the far end. Next to me is only Niki. How'd he hear me from his room?" Setta frowned.
"Niki sleeps like a rock," Satya said.
"Fair point," Setta sighed.
They started walking—but Setta stopped him. "Wait, come with me first."
"Scared?" Satya teased.
"Just follow me," Setta insisted.
He led Satya outside the villa, scanning for hidden cameras. Finding nothing, they returned to the strange room. But now—the TV was off.
He tapped it, hoping it would turn back on. No luck. Eventually, they gave up and went to join the others.
Four friends surrounded one player, blindfolded with a white cloth.
"They're playing another kids' game like yesterday," Setta observed.
"Yup," Satya replied.
They joined in, but midway through, Hesa froze, then removed his blindfold.
"What's wrong?" Jio asked.
Everyone else also looked confused.
"N-nothing. Sorry. Let's keep playing," Hesa said, pretending nothing had happened.
The game continued until everyone had taken their turn.
~~~~~
By late afternoon, the sky glowed orange. Satya and Niki relaxed by the pool under a large umbrella.
"Let's take a pic," Satya suggested.
"Sure," Niki agreed.
They posed happily—peace signs, big smiles.
"Nice one," Niki said, checking the photo.
"Let's try the animal ear filter," Satya grinned.
"You're so lame."
"Come on, just once."
"Fine, once."
They posed again.
But when they looked at the photo—the smiles vanished. The filter had worked, giving each of them two ears… but there were eight ears total. Four pairs. Two on them, two next to Satya, two next to Niki—floating, with no faces.
Satya lowered the phone slowly, eyes wide.
"Ki…" he whispered.
"I've had a bad feeling about this villa since yesterday," Niki muttered.
The evening air suddenly felt colder.
~~~~~
Night fell. Time to leave.
Everyone packed their things into the car, the mood heavy.
"All set?" Niki asked.
"Think so," Satya said, closing the trunk.
Joan walked toward Hesa, who was staring at the villa instead of getting into the car.
"Come on, let's go," he called.
Hesa didn't respond—he simply pointed at the second-floor window.
Joan followed his gaze… and froze.
There stood Setta behind the curtain, staring down at them with empty eyes, his face partly swallowed by shadow.
They watched as "Setta" stepped back into darkness.
"Why is he still up there? He'll get left behind!" Joan started to run toward the villa, but Hesa grabbed his arm.
"Don't," he said in a low, firm voice.
Arka walked up, puzzled. "Why aren't you guys in the car?"
"We just saw Setta—" Joan began, but Hesa quickly covered his mouth.
"What's going on? Why's my name—"
The real Setta appeared behind them, munching on his favorite mint-choco cookie.
"N-no reason, just a mix-up," Hesa said quickly.
The tension spiked. Joan glanced back at the window—empty. The curtain swayed slightly. No one there.
"You've been here the whole time?" Arka asked suspiciously.
"No, I was grabbing cookies from the car. Why?" Setta frowned.
"We just saw… something we shouldn't have," Hesa said coldly. "Don't bring it up again."
Niki shivered. "Maybe it was the villa's resident…"
"A ghost?" Satya whispered.
Jio smacked the back of his head. "Don't say it!"
Satya laughed nervously. "Figures I'd get dragged into the creepy stuff again."
"Enough. We're leaving. Now," Hesa said—not as a suggestion, but a command.